EV Drivers Have 'Blinked' One Million Times

San Francisco-based ECOtality, Inc. announced on October 3 that its Blink Chargers have been used to repower residential electric vehicles (EV) more than one million times. ECOtality is the first in the industry to reach this milestone.

“Through the data recorded on Blink chargers for The EV Project, we have clearly demonstrated the viability of this marketplace and continued growth of EVs across the nation,” said Ravi Brar, CEO at ECOtality. “Recording more than one million charge events is not only an iconic milestone for ECOtality, The EV Project and the industry, but is also proof that EVs are here to stay.”

Blink also has achieved two more key milestones – 40 million miles of driver data recorded and over 1.7 million gallons of gas saved.

ECOtality is the project manager of The EV Project, a research initiative launched in August 2009 to help build America’s future EV infrastructure (see below). To date, The EV Project has gathered more than 40 million miles of EV driver data that will serve to support the deployment of EVs in key markets.

The project is a public-private partnership, funded in part by the U.S. Department of Energy through a federal stimulus grant and made possible by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA). Other first-tier partners in the initiative include Chevrolet Volt , Nissan LEAF, Idaho National Laboratory, and Nissan Zero Emission.

With partner matches, the total value of the project is now approximately $230 million.

ECOtality is deploying chargers in major cities and metropolitan areas across the United States. The EV Project has qualified LEAF and Volt customers for participation, based upon home electrical power capabilities.

Because a significant amount of vehicle charging takes place at EV driver residences, a portion of The EV Project funding supports home-based charging units. In exchange for allowing the collection of vehicle and charge information, participants receive a Blink wall-mount charger at no cost – and in select locations, up to a $400 credit toward the installation.

The data are collected from both the vehicle and the charging unit, including energy used and time and duration of charger use.

No personal information is being shared or included in the data to be analyzed.